KATHMANDU, March 2: Members of the Nepal LP Gas Association (NLPGA) have expressed their dissatisfaction over the government's failure to address their demands and started preparations for a renewed protest.
President Shiva Prasad Ghimire informed that all 59 gas industries across the country have decided not to purchase delivery orders (PDOs) from Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) from Sunday. He said that if their demands are not met, they will not load LP gas bullets from the Indian Oil Corporation refineries from next Saturday.
NOC starts discussing LPG cylinder safety with dealers
The NLPGA has stated that it will stop releasing bullets from customs from March 14. The association further warned that if the demands are not met by March 19, they will stop the distribution of gas from March 20. Similarly, the association's statement mentions that dealers will also stop selling gas from March 24.
The statement said that the NLPGA had submitted a memo to the government but their demands are yet to be addressed. “During the discussion, Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, Damodar Bhandari, had assured that the legitimate demands of the entrepreneurs would be addressed and that it would take 15 days to do the homework for that. Following this assurance, the association had postponed the protest until February 27,” the association said in the statement.
The association has put forward demands such as the government should allocate 1 percent of revenue from LPG import for public awareness campaigns on safety precautions and proper usage, the need for an immediate increase in dealer commissions, transportation costs, and overhead expenses, as these have remained unchanged for the past six years. They have also requested that these costs be adjusted annually in accordance with inflation to ensure the sustainability of the sector.
